The present invention relates generally to exterior wall mount flashing for extending air conditioning lines through a wall of a building, and more particularly to an air conditioning flashing panel mount which provides a plurality of apertures adapted to receive a refrigerant and/or electrical control line of an air conditioning system through a wall of a residential and/or commercial building so as to eliminate any access into the building by unwanted intrusions such as air, water, rodents and/or the like.
As is commonly known, air conditioners typically use the evaporation of a refrigerant, like Freon, to provide air cooling. For example, conventional window mounted air conditioners have traditionally been utilized in small indoor spaces (e.g., one-bedroom apartment). This type of air conditioner is made small enough to fit into a standard window frame. The air conditioner is then operated for cooling in which its fan blows air over its condenser coils to deliver cold air to the indoor space.
Although conventional window air conditioners are suitable for small indoor spaces, they are not, however, effective or efficient for cooling larger indoor spaces such as a residential house or a commercial building. As such, central air conditioners are typically used for larger residential houses and commercial buildings. The central air conditioner is a more efficient way to cool such larger indoor spaces by providing controlled flow of chilled air through the air ducts of a conventional forced-air heating/cooling system.
As is known, central air conditioners include a compressor typically installed outside the residential house or commercial building and a condenser typically located inside the building and resident within a conventional forced air heating and ventilation system.
Typically, the compressor of the central air conditioner is placed on a concrete pad located outside the residential house or commercial building. It is connected to the condenser disposed within forced-air heating system located inside the house or by a number of air conditioning lines/conduits which extend through a section of an exterior wall of the building. More specifically, two refrigerant lines (typically copper lines for supplying/delivering a compressed refrigerant gas) and a control line (electrical line for selectively activating the compressor and fan of the air conditioning system) extend between the outside-located compressor and the inside-located condenser of the forced-air heating system.
As specifically illustrated in FIG. 1, an exterior roof jack flashing 10 is typically utilized in the prior art for extending the refrigerant lines 12 and the control line 14 through a particular exterior wall section 16 of a residential house or commercial building 18. Essentially, the roof jack flashing or vent pipe flashing 10 conventionally used by the construction and home-improvement industries features a conically shaped sheet metal body 20 which protrudes outwardly through the outer surface 22 of the wall section 16 and provides a single enlarged opening 24 leading to the inside of the house or building 18. By providing such access through the wall section 16, the two refrigerant lines 12 and the control line 14 may be run through the single enlarged opening 24 for extension between the air conditioner compressor and condenser.
However, due to its extensive size and outside dimensions, the opening 24 of the roof jack flashing or vent pipe flashing 10 remains substantially open, i.e., unfilled, despite the number of air conditioning lines 12, 14 passing therethrough. This makes the inside of the house or building 18 very vulnerable to undesirable elements such as air, moisture or rodents entering from outside. As will be recognized, this poses a significant problem since the air, moisture, rodents and the like may damage the structural integrity and/or the aesthetic appearance of the house or building 18, not to mention providing a substantial health risk to occupants.
In an attempt to alleviate this problem, it has been a common practice in the field to simply push a rag or fabric matting 26 around the lines to block the opening 24. More particularly, the rags or fabric matting 26 are typically dipped in a sealant such as tar and pushed into the opening 24 to fill the spacing surrounding the air conditioning lines 12, 14. As an alternative method, foam adhesive tapes or HVAC tapes, i.e. duct tapes, were also used to seal off the opening 24.
Although such method has proved to be somewhat effective initially in sealing the opening 24, it is significantly deficient to seal the opening over time. More specifically, due to it's fabric structure, the rag or matting 26 tends to degrade over time. This is also the same for the foam adhesive tapes, i.e. duct tapes, which tend to degrade over time. Further, the pliability or flexibility of the rag or matting 26 allows shifting from its original sealing positions when the exterior wall vent 10 is inadvertently contacted.
As such, the initial seal of the opening 24 can be eventually breached over time which may expose the inside of the house or building 18 to unwanted outside elements such as air, rodents and moisture. The breach in the opening's seal may not be discovered until the results of the exposure have already occurred. This usually leads to problems such as internal water damage or rodent infestation. Moreover, any attempt to remedy the breach may cause unintentional damage to the exterior finish (e.g., stucco, wood siding or paint) of the residential house or commercial building 18.
In view of the above-described shortcomings of conventional exterior roof jack flashing or vent pipe flashing, there exists a need in the art for an exterior wall mount flashing that can optimally seal off any opening or access to the inside of a house or a building while extending each of the air conditioning lines therethrough. More specifically, there exists a need for an exterior wall mount which can maintain such seal continuously over time so as to prevent any unwanted intrusions by air, water, rodents and/or the like into the house or building.